3 Content Tips That Drive Website Traffic

Finding your website at the top of an organic online search seems to be everyone’s goal. But, how do you climb the search engine rankings?

Search engines are designed to give a high quality experience to the — user — that should be your goal too.

Driving traffic to your website and keeping people there will help you sell product. Driving people to your website only to have them realize you don’t even sell what they’re looking for does nothing … for anyone.

Google algorithms change constantly in an effort to ensure that a user’s search yields the results they’re looking for. Your best offense in this ever-changing game is a well-planned, well-written, active website.

1. Site Content — keep it detailed.

A customer is looking for relevant information. Each page on your site should paint an accurate and detailed picture of your business. Pay attention to key words. What are your customers searching for? If they did an online search, what words would they use? Use those words in your copy. Ask yourself these same questions with each page of your site so you’re not duplicating content and confusing the search engines. Each page on your site has a separate URL and is a potential entry point for a customer. Each page should be able to stand alone and have an easy navigation to your home page.

2. Site Content & Social — keep it fresh.

A customer is looking for timely information. When they search online and go to a website, they’ll leave fast if they find outdated information. A blog provides a way for you to have a continuous stream of fresh content. Use your blog — weekly or daily. This does two things: First it helps build your authority on the topic, which might bring a user back to your site if they have a question. Second, it tells the search engines that your site is active.

Regular engagement on social sites has traditionally been part of search engine crawlers. And this content is also a way to draw customers directly to your site.

3. Links to your site — keep it real.

A customer is looking for expertise. Contributing to forums and blogs in your industry can boost your exposure and authority on a topic — again drawing customers back to you and your site. Use caution, however, and don’t make this part of your SEO strategy. In an effort to combat fake links, search engine algorithms have evolved to weed out phony sites.

Additionally, if you accept guest contributions on your blog, limit these to only well-known sources. It’s great to have free content, but if it’s from a source that was set up as a phony link-building site, it could actually hurt you.

SEO is based on an algorithm — albeit an ever changing one — an objective one. Legitimate tips abound that help make a site more transparent, making it easier for search engine crawlers. Tricks surface periodically that help maneuver around changing algorithms. The constant: Good solid content that shows how you deliver customer solutions.